Multiple factors including chemical composition and microstructure influence relaxivity of tissue water in vivo. We have quantified T1 in the human white mater (WM) together with diffusion tensor imaging to study a possible relationship between water T1, diffusional fractional anisotropy (FA) and fibre-to-field angle.
Methods:
An inversion recovery (IR) pulse sequence with 6 inversion times for T1 and a multi-band diffusion tensor sequence with 60 diffusion sensitizing gradient directions for FA and the fibre-to-field angle θ (between the principal direction of diffusion and B0) were used at 3 Tesla in 40 healthy subjects. T1 was assessed using the method previously applied to anisotropy of coherence lifetime to provide a heuristic demonstration as a surface plot of T1 as a function of FA and the angle θ.
Results:
Our data show that in the WM voxels with FA > 0.3 T1 becomes longer (i.e. 1/T1 = R1 slower) when fibre-to-field angle is 50–60°, approximating the magic angle of 54.7°. The longer T1 around the magic angle was found in a number of WM tracts independent of anatomy. S0 signal intensity, computed from IR fits, mirrored that of T1 being greater in the WM voxels when the fibre-to-field angle was 50–60°.
Conclusions:
The current data point to fibre-to-field-angle dependent T1 relaxation in WM as an indication of effects of microstructure on the longitudinal relaxation of water.
AbragamA., Principles of Nuclear Magnetism, International Series of Monographs on Physics, Oxford Science Publications, 1961.
2.
AnderssonJ.L.SkareS. and AshburnerJ., How to correct susceptibility distortions in spin-echo echo-planar images: Application to diffusion tensor imaging, Neuroimage.20 (2003), 870–888. doi:10.1016/S1053-8119(03)00336-7.
3.
AnderssonJ.L. and SotiropoulosS.N., An integrated approach to correction for off-resonance effects and subject movement in diffusion MR imaging, Neuroimage.125 (2016), 1063–1078. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.019.
4.
BarazanyD.BasserP.J. and AssafY., In vivo measurement of axon diameter distribution in the corpus callosum of rat brain, Brain.132 (2009), 1210–1220. doi:10.1093/brain/awp042.
5.
DaleA.M.FischlB. and SerenoM.I., Cortical surface-based analysis. I. Segmentation and surface reconstruction, Neuroimage.9 (1999), 179–194. doi:10.1006/nimg.1998.0395.
6.
De SantisS.AssafY.JeurissenB.JonesD.K. and RoebroeckA., T1 relaxometry of crossing fibres in the human brain, Neuroimage.141 (2016), 133–142. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.07.037.
7.
DuJ.PakB.C.ZnamirowskiR.StatumS.TakahashiA.ChungC.B. and BydderG.M., Magic angle effect in magnetic resonance imaging of the Achilles tendon and enthesis, Magn Reson Imaging.27 (2009), 557–564. doi:10.1016/j.mri.2008.09.003.
8.
FeinbergD.A.MoellerS.SmithS.M.AuerbachE.RamannaS.GuntherM.GlasserM.F.MillerK.L.UgurbilK. and YacoubE., Multiplexed echo planar imaging for sub-second whole brain fMRI and fast diffusion imaging, PLoS One.5 (2010), e15710. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015710.
9.
FreedJ.H., Stochastic-molecular theory of spin-relaxation for liquid crystals, J Chem Phys.66 (1977), 4183–4199. doi:10.1063/1.434495.
10.
FullertonG.D.CameronI.L. and OrdV.A., Orientation of tendons in the magnetic-field and its effect on T2 relaxation-times, Radiology.155 (1985), 433–435. doi:10.1148/radiology.155.2.3983395.
11.
HaackeE.M.LiuS.BuchS.ZhengW.WuD. and YeY., Quantitative susceptibility mapping: Current status and future directions, Magn Reson Imaging.33 (2015), 1–25. doi:10.1016/j.mri.2014.09.004.
12.
HakenR. and BlümichB., Anisotropy in tendon investigated in vivo by a portable NMR scanner, the NMR-MOUSE, J Magn Reson.144 (2000), 195–199. doi:10.1006/jmre.2000.2040.
13.
HenkelmanR.M.StaniszG.J.KimJ.K. and BronskillM.J., Anisotropy of NMR properties of tissues, Magn Reson Med.32 (1994), 592–601. doi:10.1002/mrm.1910320508.
14.
JackC.R.Jr., Alzheimer disease: New concepts on its neurobiology and the clinical role imaging will play, Radiology.263 (2012), 344–361. doi:10.1148/radiol.12110433.
15.
KnightM.J.DillonS.JarutyteL. and KauppinenR.A., Magnetic resonance relaxation anisotropy: Physical principles and uses in microstructure imaging, Biophys J.112 (2017), 1517–1528. doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2017.02.026.
16.
KnightM.J. and KauppinenR.A., Diffusion-mediated nuclear spin phase decoherence in cylindrically porous materials, J Magn Reson.269 (2016), 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.jmr.2016.05.007.
17.
KnightM.J.WoodB.CoulthardE. and KauppinenR.A., Anisotropy of spin-echo T2 relaxation by magnetic resonance imaging in the human brain in vivo, Biomed Spectr Imag.4 (2015), 299–310. doi:10.3233/BSI-150114.
18.
KrasnosselskaiaL.V.FullertonG.D.DoddS.J. and CameronI.L., Water in tendon: Orientational analysis of the free induction decay, Magn Reson Med.54 (2005), 280–288. doi:10.1002/mrm.20540.
LiX.VikramD.S.LimI.A.L.JonesC.K.FarrellJ.A.D. and van ZijlP.C.M., Mapping magnetic susceptibility anisotropies of white matter in vivo in the human brain at 7 T, NeuroImage.62 (2012), 314–330. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.04.042.
21.
LuginbühlP. and WüthrichK., Semi-classical nuclear spin relaxation theory revisited for use with biological macromolecules, Prog Nucl Magn Reson Spectrosc.40 (2002), 199–247. doi:10.1016/S0079-6565(01)00043-7.
22.
MarquesJ.P.KoberT.KruegerG.van der ZwaagW.Van de MoorteleP.F. and GruetterR., MP2RAGE, a self bias-field corrected sequence for improved segmentation and T1-mapping at high field, Neuroimage.49 (2010), 1271–1281. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.10.002.
23.
MomotK.I.PopeJ.M. and WellardR.M., Anisotropy of spin relaxation of water protons in cartilage and tendon, NMR Biomed.23 (2010), 313–324.
24.
MoseleyM.E.CohenY.KucharczykJ.MintorovitchJ.AsgariH.S.WendlandM.F.TsurudaJ. and NormanD., Diffusion-weighted MR imaging of anisotropic water diffusion in cat central nervous system, Radiology.176 (1990), 439–445. doi:10.1148/radiology.176.2.2367658.
25.
NavonG.EliavU.DemcoD.E. and BlümichB., Study of order and dynamic processes in tendon by NMR and MRI, J Magn Reson Imaging.25 (2007), 362–380. doi:10.1002/jmri.20856.
26.
NeebH.ErmerV.StockerT. and ShahN.J., Fast quantitative mapping of absolute water content with full brain coverage, Neuroimage.42 (2008), 1094–1109. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.03.060.
27.
NicholasM.P.EryilmazE.FerrageF.CowburnD. and GhoseR., Nuclear spin relaxation in isotropic and anisotropic media, Prog Nucl Magn Reson Spectr.57 (2010), 111–158. doi:10.1016/j.pnmrs.2010.04.003.
28.
ReisbergB.FranssenE.H.SourenL.E.AuerS.R.AkramI. and KenowskyS., Evidence and mechanisms of retrogenesis in Alzheimer’s and other dementias: Management and treatment import, Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen.17 (2002), 202–212. doi:10.1177/153331750201700411.
29.
SchybollF.JaekelU.WeberB. and NeebH., The impact of fibre orientation on T1-relaxation and apparent tissue water content in white matter, MAGMA.31 (2018), 501–510. doi:10.1007/s10334-018-0678-8.
30.
ThompsenC.HendriksenO. and RingP., In vivo measurement of water self diffusion in the human brain by magnetic resonance imaging, Acta Radiol Scand.28 (1987), 353–361. doi:10.1177/028418518702800324.
31.
ToftsP., Quantitative MRI of the Brain: Measuring Changes Caused by Disease, John Wiley& Sons, Ltd., Chichester, England, 2004. doi:10.1002/0470869526.
32.
van GelderenP.JiangX. and DuynJ.H., Effects of magnetization transfer on T1 contrast in human brain white matter, Neuroimage.128 (2016), 85–95. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.12.032.
33.
VoldR.R. and VoldR.L., Nuclear spin relaxation and molecular dynamics in ordered systems: Models for molecular reorientation in thermotropic liquid crystals, J Chem Phys.88 (1988), 1443–1457. doi:10.1063/1.454214.
34.
WhartonS. and BowtellR., Fiber orientation-dependent white matter contrast in gradient echo MRI, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA109 (2012), 18559–18564. doi:10.1073/pnas.1211075109.
35.
WhittallK.P.MacKayA.L.GraebD.A.NugentR.A.LiD.K. and PatyD.W., In vivo measurement of T2 distributions and water contents in normal human brain, Magn Reson Med.37 (1997), 34–43. doi:10.1002/mrm.1910370107.
